What my musings are all about...

Blogging might well be the 21st century's form of journaling. As a writing teacher, I have always advised my students to keep a daily journal as a way of organizing their thoughts for future writing projects, a discipline I have unfortunately never consistently practiced myself. By blogging, I might finally be able to follow my own good advice.

The difference between journaling and blogging is that the blogger opens his or her writing to the public, something journal- writers are usually reluctant to do. I am not so reticent.

The trick for me will be to avoid cluttering the internet with more blather, something none of us need more of. If I stick to subjects I know: sports and literature, I believe I can avoid that pitfall. I can't promise that I'll not stray from time to time to comment on ancillary subjects, but I will make every attempt to be interesting and perhaps even insightful.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Top Down for a Successful Sport's Franchise and etc

When I first started teaching high school eons ago, I had a sergeant's attitude towards officers, ie: a teacher's attitude toward administration. When I retired from teaching in 2005 I knew that a high school is only as good as its principal. A lazy, unintelligent, or uninspired principal and you can say so long to the general well fare of your school.

The same holds true for sports. How is it that the Golden State Warriors could have been so dense, made so many bad decisions, were so uninspired that the franchise teetered on the edge of last place abyss for so many years. Clearly, the fault lay with the administration - from owner, gm, scouts, to coach and staff.

As of last year, our Warriors have a new principal and vice principals. There's an administration in place, and they are taking risks, drafting well, replacing average players with effective players, working from the Top down. All of a sudden things are looking up for the Warriors.

We all know that the risks (Bogut & Curry) are still there and Warrior success depends on them being healthy, but how about Thompson, Michael's son, destined to surpass his father's fame? (No wonder Jerry West likes the kid; the kid plays a lot like him.) Let's not forget the acquisition of David Lee, a blossoming power forward with tons of All-Star possibilities. As for rookies, Harrison Barnes is going to be a winner. Festus Ezeli has great upside, and Draymond Greeen might turn out to be a steal in the low second round. Now, along comes the trade for J. Jack (sounds like a neat whiskey) to complete a solid three man guard rotation. Jack is a solid defender and a consistent scorer. And, he's got passion. Add to that some bench strength in Brandon Rush and Dominic McGuire. The only remaining question is how to dump Biedren's contract after which this looks like a team the Bay Area can get excited about.

But, before I wax too optimistic, let me say that it appears to me that a number of teams that were down last years have improved their rosters through trade and free agency, so it still boils down to what happens after the ref throws the ball into the air to start the game.

Now for Kobe Bryant's silly prediction that the present Olympic Team could beat the Dream Team. I suppose he couldn't very well said, no we're second best, but he could have been slightly more intelligent. Nothing wrong with asking a question with a question. What do you think, Mr. Reporter? Give him a wink and you'd have been off the hook.

Question? If Steve Nash plays as well as he did last season (at 38 yrs young), is it possible that Kobe Bryant could surpass Wilt Chamberlain's 50 pts a game avg record season?

Speaking of Kobe Bryant, remember his learning curve when he entered the league out of high school? He was not the star he is now. I wrote this poem at that time about him. It is in my first book of poems: Nothing You Lose Can Be Replaced.

Kobe Bryant

Three air-balls in a rowand the face of the cock-suremillionaire becomes the face of Billy Harris who I told to take the last shotfor the city championship,although he was too young,the only sophomore on the team.

When the ball left his handI knew right away its failureand wanted to climb the airto pull it back beforeit fell two feet short, and the fansbegan to stomp their feetand point that terrible pronounat him, as if you, you, youdidn't already understandhe'd never be the same personhe was the day began.

Tonight, on TV against the Jazz,I watch Kobe and believeit's my fault all over againbecause Billy Harris nevergot his shot back no matterwhat I did or said to himfor the next two seasons.

Thomas Meschery, a son of Russian immigrants, he became the first international player to play in an NBA All-Star Game in 1963.

An All-American success story. Born in China in 1938, he came to the U.S. with his parents after WW II. An All-American at Lowell High School, San Francisco, and St. Mary's College, Moraga, California. He was the youngest player to named a first team AAU All-American. NBA Star for ten seasons. Noted as one of the toughest players in the NBA. His jersey number has been retired by both St. Mary's and Golden State Warriors. Inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

Tom has published two books of poetry, 'Over the Rim' and 'Nothing You Lose Can Be Replaced' and a fourth-coming book of verse, 'Some Men'. He was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 2000.